Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Listeria Species Isolated from Smoked and Salted Fish

Background and Aim: Listeriosis is one of the most important food-borne diseases caused by Listeria species especially L. monocytogenes.  The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Listeria species isolated from smoked and salted fish in Isfahan and Bandar anzali. Materials and Methods: From August 2009 to April 2011, a total of 120 samples of various smoked (n= 80) and salted Iranian fish (n= 40) were obtained from randomly selected retail stores in Isfahan and Bandaranzali cities and were evaluated for the presence of Listeria spp. using standard cultural and PCR methods. Then antibiogram tests were done for determination of antimicrobial resistance. Results: 7 (8.8%) and 6 (15%) of smoked and salted fish samples were positive for Listeria spp. respectively. L. monocytogenes, L. innocua and L. seeligari were isolated from 2.5, 6.7 and 1.6% of fish samples. 9 of 13 Listeria isolates (69.2%) were resistant to one or more antimicrobial agents. Resistance to nalidixic acid (53.8%) and tetracycline (30.8%) were the most common finding. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate the potential risk of infection with Listeria in people consuming raw or under cooked smoked and salted fish. Also, the results obtained in this study indicate the need for an appropriate strategy of surveillance and epidemiological monitoring to control the development of resistance

Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli Isolated from Poultry Meat Supply in Isfahan

Background and Aim: Unfortunately, conventional antibiotic therapies which were used for cases of food poisoning caused by Escherichia coli are costly and ineffective. This study was carried out in order to detection and investigates the antibiotic resistance pattern of Escherichia coli isolated from chicken meat distributed in Isfahan province. Materials and Methods: 220 chicken meat samples were collected from shopping centers in Isfahan province. Samples were initially cultured and genomic DNA was extracted from the typical colonies that indicate the presence of Escherichia coli and polymerase chain reaction for diagnosis and detection of genes encoding resistance to antibiotics was used. Finally, the antibiotic resistance pattern was studied using the simple disk diffusion method. Results: Totally, 20.45% of samples were contaminated with Escherichia coli. Bacterial isolates has the highest antibiotic resistance to gentamicin (84.44%), ampicilin (80%), ciprofloxacin (77.77%), enrofloxacin (66.66%) and erythromycin (22.62%). The genes encoding resistance against gentamicin (aac(3)-IV), sulfonamide (sul1) and ampicillin (CITM) with incidence rate of 88.88%, 86.66% and 84.44% had the highest frequencies, respectively. Conclusions: Despite the high contamination rate of chicken meat with Escherichia coli, majority of isolates had high resistance to common antibiotics. Complete cooking of meat and avoid indiscriminate prescribing of antibiotics, preventing the occurrence of food poisoning due to resistant Escherichia coli

Detection of virulence factors of Uropathoigenic Escherichia coli isolates from infertile women high vaginal swabs

Objectives: The uropathogenic Escherichia coli as a most common cause of urinary tract infections can transmit to the reproductive system. Their various virulence factors cause adhesion, invasion and damage to reproductive epithelium. This study was carried out in order to detection of virulence factors of uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates from infertile women high vaginal swabs. Materials & Methods: Totally, 70 and 30 high vaginal swabs were taken from infertile and fertile women, respectively. All swabs were cultured and the positive samples were studied for the presence of uropathogenic virulence genes using PCR method. Results: Thirteen out of seventy swabs samples were positive for E. coli (18.57%). There were no E. coli bacteria in fertile women. Eight of the positive samples were from infertile women with the history of urinary tract infections (61.53%). The most commonly detected virulence genes were papGI (84.61%), set-1 (76.92%), papGII (61.53%), papGIII (53.84%) and sen (53.84%). Conclusion: The high vaginal Escherichia coli harbored certain virulence genes of uropathogenic Escherichia coli strains. The urinary tract infections should be treated well to diminish its upstream transfer into vagina. Some more investigation should be perform for identifying the epidemiological aspects of uropathogenic Escherichia coli in high vaginal part of infertile women

Investigate the frequency of virulence genes Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from fish, lobsters and crabs caught from Persian Gulf

Background and Aim: Annually, many reports of occurrence of food poisoning due to the consumption of sea-foods contaminated with Vibrio species have been published. The present study was carried out to study the prevalence rate of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and V. cholera and evaluation of presence of virulence genes of V. parahaemolyticus in sea-food products caught from Persian Gulf. Materials and Methods: In total, 200 samples of fish, lobster and crab caught from Persian Gulf collected in the summer of 2013 and were transferred to the food quality control laboratory of the Islamic Azad University of Shahrekord. Samples were cultured and the positive specimens were evaluated for presence of bacterial species and virulence genes using Polymerase Chain Reaction. Results: In total, 34.5% of samples were contaminated with Vibrio species. Frequency of V. cholera and V. parahaemolyticus were 5% and 21%, respectively. 8.5 percent of samples were contaminated with other species of Vibrio. From a total of 42 positive samples of V. parahaemolyticus, frequency of tdh, tlh and trh virulence genes were 45.93%, 40.47% and 16.46%, respectively. Conclusions: The sea-food products of Persian Gulf were infected with V. parahaemolyticus and V. cholera. Fish samples had the highest prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus and V. cholera. It seems that, places of fishing and processing and the moods of transportation and distribution of fish, lobster and crab don’t have suitable hygiene in Iran

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Islamic Azad University students about the prevention of AIDS in 2013

Teaching preventive measures is the only method of reducing the risks of infection with HIV among youth. The objective of this study was to determine the levels of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of the students of the Islamic Azad University (Damghan campus) about the prevention of AIDS in 2013. 450 students were randomly selected out of the total number of 5425 students Islamic Azad University (Damghan campus). Data collection was performed through a self-explanatory questionnaire which contained demographic information and questions regarding awareness, perception, and behavior. The scientific validity and reliability coefficient of 95 % was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient was approved by 90%. The data were scrutinized using the SPSS software, X2 test, T test, and analysis of variance. The study s findings indicated that the state of awareness in respect to the AIDS issue in 46.8 % of the students was adequate, in 40.8 % average, and in 12.4% inadequate. In this study, the audiovisual media composed the utmost source of information for %49.9 of the students. For the perception aspect of undergoing the HIV test, 85.6 % of the students gave their consent and also 52 % were opponents o

Helicobacter pylori in Vegetables and Salads: Genotyping and Antimicrobial Resistance Properties

From a clinical and epidemiological perspective, it is important to know which genotypes and antibiotic resistance patterns are present in H. pylori strains isolated from salads and vegetables. Therefore, the present investigation was carried out to find this purpose. Three hundred eighty washed and unwashed vegetable samples and fifty commercial and traditional salad samples were collected from Isfahan, Iran. Samples were cultured and those found positive for H. pylori were analyzed using PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using disk diffusion method. Seven out of 50 (14%) salad and 52 out of 380 (13.68%) vegetable samples harbored H. pylori. In addition, leek, lettuce, and cabbage were the most commonly contaminated samples (30%). The most prevalent virulence genes were oipA (86.44%) and cagA (57.625). VacA s1a (37.28%) and iceA1 (47.45%) were the most prevalent genotypes. Forty different genotypic combinations were recognized. S1a/cagA+/iceA1/oipA+ (33.89%), s1a/cagA+/iceA2/oipA (30.50%), and m1a/cagA+/iceA1/oipA+ (28.81%) were the most prevalent combined genotypes. Bacterial strains had the highest levels of resistance against metronidazole (77.96%), amoxicillin (67.79%), and ampicillin (61.01%). High similarity in the genotyping pattern of H. pylori among vegetable and salad samples and human specimens suggests that vegetable and salads may be the sources of the bacteria